April 7, 2011

Minor Issues

Taiwanese Cyberspace, with Che-Hsuan Lin

by David Laurila

Like most players in the minor leagues, Red Sox outfield prospect Che-Hsuan Lin is plugged in. He isn’t a gadget geek -- at least not yet -- but the 22-year-old native of Taiwan certainly knows his way around cyberspace, especially when it comes to staying in touch with the other side of the world. Lin is beginning the 2011 season with the Double-A Portland [Maine] Sea Dogs, over 7,600 miles from home.

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On cyberspace: “It is very important to me, especially during the season. I’m thousands of miles away from home and it lets me stay in contact with my family. Sometimes we do video chatting. I can also get the news, including sports news, both in Taiwan and the States. I try to keep up with sports websites as much as I can. [The internet] keeps me in the loop.

“For learning purposes I’ve taken English lessons on the internet, through Skype, on a regular basis. During the off-season, I talk to my teammates. My English is getting much better, so I can call them instead of chatting on AIM or something like that.”

On Facebook: “I have a Facebook account, which I use to touch base with friends back home and in other countries. I just use it for private purposes, though.”

On Twitter: “Twitter is also a good channel for communicating in certain ways. Some of my ex-teammates do it, like Casey Kelly and Luis Exposito, but I don’t want to put too much time into that. At this moment, I don’t want to have my own Twitter account to talk to fans.”

On iPads: “I’m thinking about getting an iPad 2. Last year I only saw one or two of them in the clubhouse, but I saw a lot of my teammates using iPads during big league spring training this year. I’m maybe interested in getting one.”

On gaming: “Some people say that playing video games will help your hand-eye coordination, but to me, I just want to take a rest. Maybe it works, but I just like to take it easy after I leave the ballpark. I’m not really into the video game thing.”

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Thanks to Sea Dogs coach Mickey Jiang for translation assistance with the interview.